AC/DC rock star fires up quake appeal

He's no AC/DC fan but Gordon Edgecombe was left a little thunderstruck all the same after a ride in Phil Rudd's lightning-fast Ferrari F40 on Saturday.
The Te Puna car buff was one of four people to secure a hotly contested run around Mount Maunganui in the AC/DC drummer's slick supercar when he made a winning bid of $2900 at a fundraising auction for the New Zealand Red Cross 2011 Earthquake Appeal at Farmer Autovillage.
He described his ride with Tauranga's resident Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member as "absolutely fantastic", remarking that the million-dollar machine could fly from zero to 100km/h in just 3sec.
His wife, Fay, chuckled as she told him: "It's just a shame you're not an AC/DC fan."
Mr Edgecombe's was the highest of the winning bids but the lowest still fetched $2100. More than $50,000 was raised from the car show for the appeal.
Another winning bidder, Bruce Porter, said he was happy to make a donation toward Christchurch, adding that he was in Timaru at the time of the February 22 quake and felt it from there.
The auction items, which also included an AC/DC lithograph, caricature and a drum kit that went under auctioneer Frank Vosper's hammer for $15,000, contributed $26,350 to the proceeds.
Rudd, who spent much of the day signing T-shirts and CDs for fans, said he was happy with the result.
"It's been really good. It's just great to do something for Christchurch."
Rudd said he enjoyed chatting with fans, some who had travelled from across the country to meet him.
Tauranga's Ben Thomas, 19, a "huge AC/DC fan", stopped Rudd to tell him: "You're just a legend, fella - can I just shake your hand?" The starstruck fan told told the Bay of Plenty Times: "That was awesome ... I'm still shaking."
"Awesome" was also the word Tauranga 12-year-old Josh Arnold used to describe getting his AC/DC shirt and cap signed by the rock star. Farmer Autovillage owner Mike Farmer was "absolutely over the moon" with the success of the auction.
"It's been excellent and it's also given people a rare chance to see all of these wonderful cars in one spot."
Rudd's collection, worth more than $9 million, also featured a newly acquired Ferrari 599, a Lamborghini Murcielago, Lamborghini Gallardo, 2010 Rolls Royce Ghost, a 2011 Bentley Mulsanne, a Bentley super sport, an Audi R8 V10, a 2011 Aston Martin DBS, 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG and a unique Can Am race car.